Earl tossed his hands up and the driver side window slowly came down.
“Uncle Wise, what’s good?”
“You tell me, nephew. I know you better step out that goddamn car and come give your uncle some love.”
Mox
pushed the door open and got out.
He was no longer the short, skinny dark skinned kid he was seven years ago. He was grown up now, seventeen years old, 6 feet 4 inches, black as the dead of night and in control of his own operation.
He hugged his uncle and dapped the young wolves.
“What’s the word,
Unc
?”
Earl plucked the remnants of his cigarette and looked at
Mox
. “The only thing more
threatenin
’ to you besides your enemy, is the people closest to you. Never forget that.”
Mox
nodded and walked into the corner store. He came out with a bottled water and the newspaper.
“Priscilla,” He said, getting back in the car. “Get that and let’s go.”
She unzipped the small Gucci carrying bag and handed it to Earl.
“Go fill that up,
youngin
’.”
One of the young wolves took the bag and went around the corner. He returned in seconds, handing the bag back to Priscilla.
“You been upstairs,
Unc
?”
Mox
asked, ready to pull off.
“Earlier, she up there
wit
’ Casey and Cleo. I’ll be through in a minute.”
“Aight.”
Mox
pulled from the curb and made a right down Brook Street and then he made another right into the lot and pulled into a parking space.
They got out the car, walked to building 80 and took the elevator to the sixth floor.
He stood in front of 6A fumbling through his pocket for the keys. Finally finding them, he opened the door.
As soon as it opened, Casey jumped into
Mox’s
arms.
“Whoa, boy. You getting too big to be doing that.
Wassup
?”
“Nothing.” Casey, jumped back down to the floor. He picked his basketball up and continued dribbling.
“Casey!” Cleo yelled from the back room. “Stop bouncing that ball in the house!”
“Shut up!”
Mox
yelled back.
“Who dat!?”
“Who you want it to be!?”
“What I tell y’all ‘bout all that damn noise in my house?” Sybil added. She was in the kitchen washing dishes.
Cleo came from the back room.
“It’s this little nigga.” He snarled, snatching the basketball from Casey.
“Hey!”
“Hey, nothin’… I told you ‘bout this ball. I don’t know why you always got it anyway, you ain’t no good.”
Mox
took the ball from Cleo and gave it back to Casey. “Leave my lil’ brother alone. Tell him, Casey… you going to the NBA.”
Casey’s eyes lit up and he got excited. “Yup! And when I get rich,
I’ma
buy
Mox
a house and Auntie a house and you ain’t getting’ nothing ‘cause you always bothering me.”
Cleo mushed the 12 year old making him stumble into the dining table. Casey threw the ball, striking him in his stomach, then he ran through the house.
“You lil’ muthafucka!” He growled, ready to chase after him.
“Chill, Cleo.”
Mox
grabbed his arm.
“Get the fuck off me.” He yanked away, cursing. “Priscilla, why you hang around this nigga, I know you can do better than this asshole.”
Sybil slammed a dish in the sink. “Cleo, watch your mouth in my house!”
“It’s this nigga.” He pouted.
“It’s always somebody else, it’s never you.” She said, drying off the last dish. “How you doing, Priscilla?”
“Hello, Ms. Daniels. I’m good.” She took a seat at the table.
“Why you always sticking up for him? You
aint
never on my side.” Cleo whined.
“Cleo, cut the bullshit and get ready for practice.”
He pouted his lips and turned to walk away. He knew better than to talk back.
“
Wassup
, Auntie?”
Mox
hugged his aunt. “How’s everything?”
“I’m surviving, baby, blessed to see another day.”
He glanced around the kitchen. It was always a homely feeling when he stepped through the door. He appreciated his aunt stepping up and taking care of him and his brother after his parents’ murder. If it wasn’t for her, they would have been dragged into foster care and more than likely they would have been split up.
After his parents were killed, Sybil took full custody of her sister’s two boys. Since then,
Mox
had moved out on his own, but Casey was still here.
His eyes fell to a picture that was stuck on the refrigerator.
“Do you miss her, Auntie?” He stared at one of the few visual memories of his mother.
“Miss who,
Mox
?”
“My mother…”
Sybil turned and faced
Mox
. “Of course I miss her. I think about her every day.”
“I do too… you know something,”
Mox
opened the refrigerator and grabbed the pitcher of Kool-Aid. “I wanted to ask you this for the longest, but I was always afraid of the answer.”
“Ask me what?”
Mox
leaned against the wall. He needed some closure, seven years was long enough.
“Do you remember that night?”
She sighed. “Like it was yesterday.”
“Do you know why it happened?”
“I don’t have a clue,
Mox
. I wish I did.” She peeled the picture off the refrigerator. “I really miss my sister.” Her eyes got watery and a tear rolled down her cheek.
Mox
ripped a paper towel from the roll that was on the counter and handed it to her.
“Lately it’s been on my mind. It just bothers me that nobody knows anything.”
Sybil listened to
Mox
. She knew more than she led him to believe, but she was afraid to expose her dark secrets.
“Sometimes the truth can cause pain, baby.”
“No more than it’s already caused—.”
A knock at the door disturbed their conversation.
“Who is it?”
“Open up, lil’ nigga.”
Mox
unlocked the door and Wise Earl strolled into the apartment.
He looked around the peaceful room. Something was going on. It was too quiet for this to be his sister’s house.
“What the hell is going on in here? Why y’all lookin’ so sad?”
“Uncle Wise, I was just asking auntie if she knew anything about the night my mother and father got killed.”
Earl was shocked. His eyes moved from Sybil to
Mox
, and then back to Sybil. He didn’t expect to walk in on a subject so sensitive. He could tell his older sister had been crying.
“
Mox
, sometimes things happen and we can’t do anything about it. That’s life.”
“
Naw
,
Unc
… I ain’t
tryna
hear that.”
“Well, that’s what it is.”
“That ain’t what it is, Uncle Wise. Listen to what you saying, basically you gave up. Y’all don’t even care about what happened.”
“It’s not that I don’t care, because I do. That was my sister, I love her, but—”
Mox
cut in. “But what,
Unc
?”
The room went silent.
“I believe if y’all did know something y’all would tell me…” There was a pause. “Right?” he glanced back and forth.
“C’mon, Priscilla.”
Mox
hugged his aunt. “I’m old enough to know now Auntie, and if somebody doesn’t tell me, eventually I’ll find out on my own.” he said.
Earl grabbed his nephew’s arm and brought him in close. “I love you boy. Be safe out there,
Mox
.”
“I got you,
Unc
. Hey, Auntie, tell Casey I’ll be through at nine o-clock tomorrow so I can take him to his game.”
He walked out the door and Priscilla followed.
Wise Earl shook his head and then looked at his sister. “You
gon
’ have to tell him one day, sis.”
The Union
Coming Soon on SBR Publications
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